This invention relates to fenestration products and more particularly to a sash or jamb configuration for an insulation construction for such products.
A fenestration product is a door, window or skylight assembly that fits in a building opening. In such products it is common to provide a sash which frames or retains a transparent pane, usually glass. The sash can be thought of as a peripheral frame and, can be movable or stationary relative to a building frame mounted to a building and within which the sash is carried. In some situations there is no sash and the pane is set directly in the frame for the product. This is sometimes referred to as direct set. An example could be a picture window.
The pane is usually transparent and may be a single pane. However, due to temperature differentials between the external environment (outside of the pane) and the building interior, there may be heat losses. For example, in the winter the outside may be cold and the inside of the pane may be warm resulting in heat transfer from the inside to the outside as well as undesirable internal condensation. These heat loss and condensation issues can be a problem. In the summer time the losses may be in the opposite direction, where the inside is air conditioned and is cooler than the outside.
In order to avoid or minimize the heat loss and/or condensation problems, an insulating glass unit has been developed, wherein multiple spaced but parallel panes are sealed together to form a subassembly which is installed in the sash or frame. The space between the glass panes is insulated, sometimes filled with a gas and separates the inside and the outside panes. This spacing or insulation minimizes condensation and heat losses.
At the present time, the sealed insulating glass unit is separate and needs to be separately mounted in the sash or frame.
Reference is made to the application drawing FIG. 4 showing in section an insulating glass unit installed in a sash.
Usually, the unit is acquired from separate facilities or operations and needs to be installed in the sash or frame. But it is desirable (a) to manufacture the insulated glass unit with the sash or frame so as to minimize dimensional differences, which may occur as a result of units coming from different sources, (b) to assemble the elements together and (c) to more efficiently manufacture units.
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a sash or frame with an insulating glass construction which eliminates the separate insulating glass unit while still obtaining the benefits of the application.
Insulating glass systems where a pair of parallel panes are mounted in a sash can be seen in U.S. patents, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 309,636; 1,605,583; 1,835,317; 2,029,541; 2,050,733; 2,132,217; 2,246,075; 2,607,453; 3,881,290; and 4,472,914.
These systems are believed not to be suitable in current manufacturing operations nor to effectively employ recent technology. For example, at the present extruded plastic materials are being used extensively.
Thus, another object of this invention is to employ a system which is more compatible with current technology.
The foregoing objects and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.